Are there bonus payments for EHR use in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009?
There are several programs in the Act (also known as the HITECH Act). The Medicare-administered program will work best for most practices and physicians. A separate Medicaid program is available for qualifying practices. Payments may only be received from one program; therefore, careful consideration must be taken prior to making a choice. Special note for physicians working for certain Medicare Advantage organizations: Under specific conditions, physicians affiliated with Medicare Advantage organizations that are organized as Health Maintenance Organizations (“HMOs”) will not be paid directly. Instead, the payment incentives for meaningful EHR use go directly to the Medicare Advantage organizations – not to the practices.
